In Dakar, it is not always easy to find the particular food ingredients you are looking for. For all things food, Dakar Eats is a good blog to follow. Here is her list of ingredients and where to purchase them in Dakar, providing they have received their shipments. Below are a few recommendations for places that sell particular food articles.
Dairy
Club Kossam is a delivery service. You can have milk, yogurt, and crème fraîche in reusable glass containers delivered weekly to your house. The delivery day depends on your neighborhood. You sign up for an account here, and you can update your delivery before it is delivered each week. You can also skip deliveries if you are out of town or don’t need more milk that week. You leave money and your empty bottles for the delivery person to collect each week.
American Food Stores
There are two American grocery stores, The American Food Store in Almadies and The Dakar Family Market in Ouakam. In addition to many of the American foods you could want (think condiments, taco ingredients, American candy, and sugary cereal!), they also sell Beer Sheba frozen meat and a selection of greens from Taru Askaan Farms depending on the season. They don’t always have what you’d like in stock, but they are a good first stop if you are looking for something specific from the States.
The Dakar Farmers’ Market
This takes place the first Saturday of the month from December through May, and you can get many local products such as greens, other produce, honey, soap, and more. There are several special markets throughout the year that have even more local crafts, and it can be a great place to go for gifts. If you want leafy greens such as kale, it’s good to go early as they sell out quickly!
La Boucherie Nouvelle
A high quality butcher shop located in Point E, La Boucherie Nouvelle will also deliver your order to school. You can even place your order through Facebook Messenger.
Le Gac
A great butcher in Ngor/Virage. Very large selection high quality pork, beef, poultry and house made charcuterie. They also carry a small selection of other fine food products, cheeses and wine at their location in Ngor/Virage. If you’re preparing for a party, they have bags of ice made with clean, filtered water.
Chinese Supermarket
There is a wonderful selection of Asian goods (mostly Chinese). They make fresh tofu and tofu skins/sheets several days a week (including the weekend), as well as fresh steamed pork buns and sticky rice packages during the week (usually on Mondays and Thursdays). You can also find bags of frozen pork dumplings made in house. They sell a large variety of produce difficult to find in Dakar (eg. bean sprouts, bok choy, enoki and oyster mushrooms, brocoli, other Asian leafy greens) at all very good prices. Bonus: they’re open on Sundays. They are located here in Gibraltar, just southeast of Point E.
Korean Supermarket
Sells mostly dried and frozen goods, including dried noodles, instant ramen, kimchi, frozen dumplings, and it’s the only place I’ve found frozen dumpling skins/wrappers for making your own at home. They are located inside Unibella stores (same owners). The location in Plateau is upstairs, while the one in Ngor (across from the stadium) is in a room to the right, past all the beauty products.
Cor Coumba Torréfaction
In my opinion, this is the best local roaster of coffee beans. They get beans from all over the world, depending on what shipments they have received. You can buy whole beans or have them ground to your specification depending on what kind of coffee you brew. They are located in Point E and are usually at the Farmer’s Market as well.
The ISD Garden Project
Nyah Gueye sends out regular emails for produce from the Garden Project that is for sale in Almadies (usually on Thursday evening in the Chez Fatou parking lot). It’s a great way to get fresh greens, tomatoes, herbs, and more!
Contributors:
Erin O'Rielly, Grade 4 Teacher
Karalyn Yu, Grade 3 Teacher